Tag: Andrew Orvedahl

  • 18 March 2015: The Narrators’ 5th Anniversary Special

    18 March 2015: The Narrators’ 5th Anniversary Special

    To celebrate the fifth anniversary of our Denver show, we’re replacing our regular monthly 8pm show with TWO shows at 7pm and 9pm. Join us for this special event! Both shows are stacked with ridiculously wonderful raconteurs:

    WEDNESDAY, 18 MARCH AT BUNTPORT THEATER

    7:00PM

    • Hutch Harris (lead singer of The Thermals, standup comedian from Portland, Oregon)
    • Robert Rutherford (co-host of The Narrators San Diego, Digital Content Developer at the San Diego Natural History Museum)
    • Janae Burris (actor and comedian, voted California’s Funniest Female)
    • Adam & Evan Nix (The Nix Bros, Total Ghost)
    • Heather Nicholson Hughes (actor and writer)
    • Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald (comedian, veterinarian, star of Animal Planet’s “Emergency Vets”)

    9:00PM

    • Hutch Harris (yes, both shows!)
    • Robert Rutherford (yes, both shows!)
    • Ellen K Graham (playwright and screenwriter)
    • Kelly shortandqueer (co-founder of the Denver Zine Library)
    • Timmi Lasley (comedian and actor, host of Epilogue Comedy)
    • Jeff Campbell (playwright, educator, MC, poet, performer, activist)
    • Jan Scott-Frazier (multimedia artist, Japanese anime industry veteran, Exeuctive directo of Voices For)

    Plus Andrew Orvedahl and Ron S. Doyle, hosting their yoga-and-bicycle-toned butts off.

    As always, admission to these shows is free, but we did pay to bring Hutch and Robert in for this special evening—so your donations are greatly appreciated. Wine and beer (from our darling sponsor, Breckenridge Brewery) will also be available by donation.

  • 54: Number Two, Part 2

    54: Number Two, Part 2

    This episode, the second of a two-part series on the theme “Number Two,” features stories from Narrators co-host Andrew Orvedahl and comedian Christie Buchele. These stories were recorded live at Buntport Theater on October 15, 2014.

    Our next live show takes place on January 21, 2015 at 8:00pm—the theme of the evening will be “Self Help.” See you there!

    Our theme music is by our friend Whalehawk (aka the Grammy-nominated musician Jake Sanders).

  • 46: Taking a Stand, Part 1

    46: Taking a Stand, Part 1

    This episode, the first of a three-part series on the theme “Taking a Stand,” features stories from co-hosts Andrew Orvedahl and Robert Rutherford. These stories were recorded live at Buntport Theater on July 18, 2014 as part of a special collaboration with Pivot TV and Rooftop Comedy.

    Our new theme music is by our friend Whalehawk (aka the Grammy-nominated musician Jake Sanders).

  • Our Story Thus Far…

    Our Story Thus Far…

    In 2009, I created a comedy storytelling show in Los Angeles called Storytime, born mainly from my frustration at the average standup comedy audience’s impatience with stories. The show was a ton of fun, and when I moved back to Denver in November of that year, I was eager to move the show with me.

    Once I finally found a home at the Paris on the Platte wine bar, the first order of business was to change the name to The Narrators, since I discovered there was already a Colorado-based jam band called Storytime. (Much later I would discover that there is also a pretty terrible hip hop group called The Narrators.) I had created the show somewhat self-indulgently as a means to tell funny stories, and for others to do the same, but it took on a life of its own, with its own fan base. I was finding new and amazing storytellers every month who were not comedians, but playwrights, songwriters, novelists, etc. The show grew immediately, and soon outgrew the intimate little wine bar.

    I decided to move the show to a new venue, but knew it also needed more attention than I could give, so I asked my good friend Robert Rutherford to hop aboard, as he had already demonstrated both a passion for storytelling and a passion for this show, both crucial ingredients. We moved The Narrators to the Deer Pile art space, which was a terrific upgrade. The space was still intimate, but very intentional. Everyone present was there to hear the stories, which significantly improved the show’s quality.

    NarratorsPromo

    As fortune would have it, the show continued to steadily grow until it was normal to see audience overflow spilling out into the hallway. We stayed at the Deer Pile as long as we could, but eventually resigned ourselves to look for a larger space.

    We ended up linking with one of our very favorite Denver cultural institutions, the Buntport Theater  and again the fit was perfect, and is to date our current home. The space is larger, but still ideal for storytelling.

    Robert’s life decided to take him to San Diego, but his love for the show is undiminished, and in fact he will soon be launching his own chapter of The Narrators from southern California. I’ve never had anything I created bear the sort of fruit that can be taken away to a new place to grow, which is super cool. (Yes, I know it’s just a storytelling show which is neither unique or amazing, but it still feels neat.)

    We’ve also partnered up with Rooftop media out of San Francisco, who will distribute some of our stories across their various platforms. Hopefully this partnership will lead to other big ideas- like perhaps a StoryFest here in Denver?

    I had to find a new co-host for the Denver Narrators show, and after some real thinking, I found the perfect candidate. I will introduce him to the show on August 20th, hope to see you there!

    To everyone who has told a story, or just listened over all these years, thank you so much!

    -Andrew Orvedahl

  • Fundraising COMPLETE, The Narrators on Public Radio, and more

    Fundraising COMPLETE, The Narrators on Public Radio, and more

    HOST JOWLSWell, you did it, you lovely beasts.  You helped us raise $1200 in just 7 short days to help us grow and expand The Narrators’ live show and our podcast.  Thank you so much to those who helped spread the word and especially our supporters who dug deep and made short work of our campaign.  We are so excited about what lies ahead for our show and we know that we couldn’t do it without our storytellers or our audience. Thank you.

    Speaking of exciting things in our future, we are hosting a special Narrators show on Friday July 18th at Buntport Theater.  We are forgoing our regular third Wednesday show so that we can focus on making this show one of the best we’ve done.  It’s also Robert’s last show before packing up his new podcasting gear and heading west to spread The Narrators’ all over SoCal like so much avocado on gluten-free breads.

    We have teamed up with Pivot TV and Rooftop Media to put together a show about “Taking a Stand”, which will be filmed by Pivot TV.  We are pleased to announce the lineup for the show, which includes the following badasses:

    Dessa (from DOOMTREE Collective)

    Jonny 5 (from Flobots)

    Evan Weissman (from Denver’s own Warm Cookies of the Revolution)

    Nancy Norton (comedian, former member of Vox Feminista)

    Andrew Orvedahl (comedian, creator of The Narrators)

    Robert Rutherford (co-host of The Narrators, poet, musician)

    The show is at 8pm and whereas we are not charging admission, there is a suggested donation of $3 so that we can give our storytellers some scratch.

    And if that ain’t enough excitement for you, the second episode of our storytelling series on Colorado Public Radio, The Narrators’ Second Listen, is available for your perusal and guaranteed enjoyment.  In this episode we explore the resume as a narrative device.

    Mark yer calendars and we’ll see you on July 18th!

     

  • TONIGHT!! The Narrators on GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!

    Normals and Weirdos –

    Tonight we celebrate the end of our run at the Deer Pile with one last show at the venue that helped us in no small way to become what we are today!  Or theme is Girls! Girls! Girls! and we’ve assembled a lineup of some of The Narrators’ best storytellers, peppered with a few newcomers.  Here are the details:

    Jefferson Bare is the curator and host of Bare!, monthly in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. A sex educator and writer, Jefferson keeps a pseudonymous blog, One Life, Take Two, that details his life as a parent and pervert. He is a storyteller frequently seen on stages around New York and elsewhere, including The Moth, where he is a StorySlam winner. He is also host of Foreplay! A Sexy Storytelling Open Mic, biweekly in New York.

    Edwin Forrest Ward is a cornerstone of the Denver literary scene, and is also the host of Stories Stories Bring Your Stories, our sister Denver storytelling show at the Mercury Cafe’. Stories Stories Bring your Stories happens the fourth Tuesday of every month.

    Taylor Gonda is a longtime contributor to The Narrators and co-host of award-winning podcast These Things Matter, where she and co-host Kevin O’Brien ply the depths of our pop-cultural obsessions.

    Julia Wilson sings in several Denver-based jazz, blues, and soul groups, including Westbrook Jazz, which started in Detroit in the 1960s.

    Cory Casciato is nerd royalty in Denver.  He is a former editor of the Onion AV Club, a current writer for Westword, and creator of undead-obsessed website The Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse.

    Francie Swidler is a contributor to Mile High Style for The Denver Post and Geeks Who Drink quizmaster.

    Ian O’Dougherty has been playing in Denver bands for over twenty years, and has a long resume that includes tenures in some amazing bands, including Uphollow, The Ian Cooke Band, TaunTaun, and more.  Ian is also a strong advocate for arts in Denver and is currently co-producing a series of full-album cover shows called Under the Cover.

    Ru Johnson is a writer, arts advocate and nail polish enthusiast. Ru writes for a metric shit-ton of media outlets.  JFGI and see how she owns this town.

    8PM at THE DEER PILE.  FREE AS THE AIR YOU BREATHE, UNLESS YOU’RE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO BUYS THOSE AEROSOL CANS OF AIR TO BREATHE, IN WHICH CASE WE’D LIKE TO CHARGE YOU 10 BUCKS.  See you there, darlings.